Insects & Science

Beetles are the largest group of animals on the planet, with as many as 350,000 known species, including 23,000 in the United States alone. Beetles account for a quarter of all animal life on...

Of the 1,500 types of mantis species around the globe, 20 live in the United States. The praying mantis is the one most familiar to people, and is an insect easy to identify by its odd looks.

Approximately 80 percent of all animal species are insects, according to Clemson University. Entomology is the scientific field of study devoted to species of insects.

Thousands of parasitic wasps exist in the order hymenoptera. A small number, though, often generically just referred to as parasitica wasps, offer a natural answer to insect pest controls in...

Although there are around 700 species of dermestid beetle (carpet beetle/flesh- eating beetle), they all begin life as an egg. All species of dermestid beetles lay tiny white eggs. The number of a...

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, there are more than 20,000 species of bees throughout the world. Though characteristics of the body parts of a bee vary from species to species, there are...

There are more than 200 species of fleas, but their life cycles are remarkably similar. There are only a few species that feed off of human blood or the blood of pets. The cat flea is the most...

Typically, a cricket lives from four to six months. Different species may have shorter or longer lifespans, and the longevity of individuals within species also varies. Given special care, the...

Stink bugs, sometimes called shield bugs, are in the scientific order Hemiptera and in the family Pentatomidae. There are 221 species of stink bugs in North America. Among the various species, the...

Black ants can be found all over the world living indoors and outdoors and surviving on many different diets. Each type of black ant is just a little bit different, with some being easier to get...

The Fender's blue is a small butterfly that lives on less than 500 acres in Oregon's Willamette Valley. It was officially designated an endangered species in 2000, after a majority of its habitat...

A caddisfly, sometimes called a sedge fly, is an aquatic cousin of moths and butterflies. A caddisfly goes through a complete life cycle of egg, larva, pupa and adult phase. The life cycle of a...

The tiny leafhopper is a member of one of the world's largest families of insects. In fact, leafhopper species outnumber the mammal, reptile, amphibian and bird species on Earth. Leafhoppers live...

Springtails are a species of arthropod that generally live in areas of high humidity. The springtail gets its name from having the ability to throw itself into the air using an appendage found...

Beetles comprise the largest population of animals known to inhabit the earth. They represent a full 25 percent of the entire animal kingdom. They have been found on every continent and in every...

Beetles, also known as coleoptera, are the largest order of insects known. Characterized by hardened forewings (elytra) that form a shield over the hind wings and abdomen, the name coleoptera...

Hemiptera is an order of insects that is well known for having a sucking mouth. They are found all around the world and in many varieties. Aphids are hemiptera. Cicadas are hemiptera, as are...

Although the full life cycle of the mayfly, from egg to adult, spans an entire year, the life of an adult mayfly is extremely short. It lives only one or two days, just long enough to mate and...

Collembola, commonly known as springtails for their ability to make dramatic, flea-like jumps using a feature of their tails to provide spring action, are not true insects. They are often...

The annual life cycle of aphids involves two types of reproduction. Since the lifespan of an aphid is very short, multiple generations of the insect will live and die during the year.

Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are the primary vector of malaria in Africa and show signs of extending their range. With habits common to many species, An. gambiae's habits and life cycle will...

The first characteristics to look for in identifying a butterfly cocoon are where it is found and how it is formed. Most butterfly cocoons are formed just large enough to house and barely cover...

There are 3,000 different species of mosquito in the world which transmit diseases like encephalitis and malaria, yet only their females bite people. Not all mosquitoes bite people, and many...

Stink bugs are common garden insects and easy to identify, from the shape of their bodies to their unique defense mechanisms.

Bright-winged and beautiful, butterflies fill our meadows and gardens. It seems that when you see one, you see dozens, and it can seem like there are literally millions of different kinds. The...

Dragonflies are often welcomed in gardens because they are not only colorful and majestic fliers, but also eat flies and mosquitoes. Attracting more of them to your yard is basically dependent on...

The order Diptera is the order of what are known as "true flies." These flies are noted for having only one pair of wings. The order includes the common housefly, the horse fly, deer flies and...

Grasshoppers are often considered to be more harmful than helpful when it comes to their interaction with vegetation and crops, but whether they are indeed harmful or helpful depends upon the...

Walking stick bugs (from the Phasmida family) are very aptly named, because they look like sticks with legs and antennae, but even those will look as if they are twigs attached to a small branch....

There are many different spider species in North America, a few of which can be harmful. This article looks at ways to identify the various common species you might encounter in your travels.

Besides wing patterns, there are four to five main points to look for when identifying a butterfly or any member of the order Lepidoptera--which also includes moths. Its shape, size, posture and...

Butterflies are insects that belong to an order known as Lepidoptera, which also includes the moths. They number some 180,000 species in all. Butterflies have a life cycle which consists of four...

Tiny red ants are a wide variety of small species, and "tiny red ant" is a common name that doesn't apply to any one species. Learn about the constricted bodies and bulbous heads of ants with...

Whether you find them disgusting, fascinating or both, worms are a large and vital part of nature. Worms are found in all ecological areas, playing a variety of roles at different levels of the...

Scale insects are tiny creatures that look as if they have no legs. They will attach themselves to trees, shrubs and even indoor plants and feed off of the sap. This can cause serious damage to...

Crickets are small insects that are found around the world and are responsible for the chirping sound sometimes heard at night in highly wooded areas. With over 900 different species of crickets...

A grub is generally considered the larval form of a beetle. There are many species of beetles and therefore many forms of grubs that can be found in many lawns and gardens. They do, however, have...

Insects belong to a group of animals called arthropods and can be found in nearly every habitat on Earth. There are more than one million known species of insects, with another estimated 10...

The ants that have wings are not a particular species of flying ants but rather members of a species of ants that can fly. Only certain ants will grow wings within a species, for the purpose of...

"Fleas" is an umbrella term under which many species are listed, because they act very much alike. They are tiny, wingless, blood-sucking insects that live off of other species. The main...

The answer to the question what do ants eat is a simple one--they will eat almost anything. They are omnivorous, meaning that animals and vegetables are in their diet. Ants are particular fond of...

Only the beetle family has more species to its credit than moths do. There are more than 160,000 species of moths around the world, with as many as 12,000 located in North America. In contrast...

New Mexico has hundreds of species of spiders within its borders. The southwestern state is home to many harmless spiders and a few that are considered dangerous, although many of their...

Cockroaches are mostly nocturnal insects that include about 4,000 different species. Of that number, only about 30 can be found living where humans do and four are well known household pests....

Crickets are insects with large back legs used for jumping, closely resemble grasshoppers and are related to Katydids. Crickets have long antennae that can sometimes be longer than their bodies....

Beetles comprise the largest group of life forms on earth. They make up an astounding one quarter of all known members of the entire animal kingdom, not just insects. Thus far there are about...

Bees are members of the same family as wasps and ants. Early in their history, they were predatory creatures, attacking and devouring other insects. At some point in their evolution, perhaps...

There are several species of fire ants in the United States, but the term "fire ant" is used almost exclusively in reference to the red imported fire ant. This species originates in...

Learn about the different species of fruit flies - free video.

Fruit flies are one of the most widespread and diverse creatures on earth. With hundreds of genera containing many thousands of species of fruit flies, the animal is a fascinating example of the...